I am going to the West
by Caledonia1986
Summary: During their separation Inuyasha feels somewhat lonely until he hears a familiar voice. Could it be that he's insane? Or maybe, just maybe, one certain miko feels as lonely as he does... NOW A TWO-SHOT!, Songfic! Inu/Kag all the way!
1. I am going to the West

**A/N**: Just a little One-Shot that came to my by surprise while listening to this song. It simply wouldn't let me rest, so I wrote it up and have finally decided to put it online. Don't know if its any good, it certainly isn't one of my best works, but I wanted it published anyway. In case anyone wants to listen to the song I used for this, its Connie Dover's "I am going to the West", technically an Irish folksong, but it seemed to fit for Kagome and Inuyasha. This takes place during their separation after Naraku has been finished off.

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song or the characters, I'm just playing with them!**

**Warnings**: None that I could spot^^

**Summary**: After Inuyasha has been pushed down the well, he feels lonely. But there's that voice singing one evening, Kagome's voice. Could it be that he's getting crazy? Or maybe the Miko is as lonely as the hanyou is...

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><p><strong>I am going to the West<strong>

The setting sun shone cheerfully upon the land, the evening was warm and the last soft rays of sunshine seemed to bathe the land in pleasant glow. The wind played with the blades of grass and the leaves in the trees, making them sigh and whisper all throughout the land. And on a hilltop, not too far from the village under his protection, a lone figure stood, his silver hair blowing in the wind and making it almost dance around his head.

_I remember how Kagome loved it when the wind ruffled her hair..._

Inuyasha sighed soundlessly and closed his eyes for a moment. Kagome. She was so far away from him, and yet her presence never seemed to leave him. How could he not think of her, when he saw her face whenever he closed his eyes for a moment, when he heard her laugh in the wind or smell her scent everywhere he went. Try as he might, he could not forget her. He didn't want to forget her. Not when the mere image of her or the memory of her scent calmed him so much.

Right after he had been pulled back through the well, he had nearly lost his mind trying to get back to her, he couldn't think of anything else. Then he had tried convincing him that it was better that way, that she had never belonged in his era, that he was better off without her. But gradually, over the passing of time, he had understood that she had made him a better person. She had been the first human to ever accept him for what he was, not wanting to change him into something else. She always sacrificed something for his sake and he had taken her for granted. Now that she was gone, he felt her absence more keenly than anything else.

Most of his days were spent in a haze now, he alternated between keeping a lonely and silent vigil over Kaede's village and walking aimlessly through the forest bearing his name. More often than not, his nights were spent within the branches of Goshinbuko, recalling every instant he had been blessed with Kagome's presence.

Inuyasha's sight cleared once more, he often dazed off now, thinking of what Kagome might be doing. Mildly surprised he felt a presence coming towards him and his nose told him that it was just Miroku. The monk had built a hut outside the village, spending his days in blissful love with his demon slayer Sango.

Inuyasha was not jealous of them, at least not anymore, he was actually rather glad to have his friends near. It made the loneliness more bearable in a way.

Now Miroku stood next to him, not saying anything, simply showing that he was there. Both of them had known each other for so long now that conversation wasn't really needed anymore, the monk knew what plagued him, so why ask?

"You know, I still see her sometimes."

He had spoken before he had realised it and in his peripheral vision he saw Miroku look at him calmly, his eyes filled with understanding, not pity. He didn't say anything, there was no need to say anything. Right after he had been hurled back into his time, his mind had gone haywire, he had thought to see Kagome very often and it had concerned his friends. And secretly, it had concerned him also. Over time, the instances here he seemed to see the woman his heart beat for had lessened, but they had never stopped. Miroku knew that well and had advised him to relish in those brief moments of sadness, knowing how much the miko's absence hurt the hanyou.

Presently it was as with the change of the winds direction, a voice floated through the air, even as the sun sunk towards the horizon.

_I'd know that voice anywhere... But she's not here with me anymore..._

It was Kagome's voice, her soft faint voice whispering through the wind. Before he knew it, his muscles reacted and his feet guided him slowly towards the forest, the presence of the monk following him slowly. He heard him call his name, more confused than concerned, but the hanyou didn't heed him. The voice seemed so real, and yet it wasn't. It felt as if it was just a shadow of the real thing. And yet, despite his better jusgement, he was moving towards it, drawn by the longing he felt, like a moth drawn to a flame.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Inuyasha stopped to look back at his friend. His gaze was concerned, only mildly but still. They all worried about him, he could sense it in their behaviour. They all shot him long looks, he could feel their gazes on him when he was standing guard near the village, they spoke quieter, careful not to anger him in any way. Of sorts, it was annoying, but Inuyasha liked the silence he was provided with now, it gave him opportunity to think.

"What it is my friend?" Miroku asked him now, still holding his gaze firmly, while his hand created a quiet reassurance only few mortals could achieve.

"I have a strange question, Miroku." he stated quietly and was almost surprised at how his voice had changed. Gone was the gruff tone he had so often made use of in the past. It had been replaced by the calm speech of a being that had accepted his fate.

"What question?" the monk asked and stepped back a pace, knowing from experience that his friend didn't wish to be comforted. At the least not by him.

The wind picked up once more and with it, the voice returned. Unable to resist the temptation of it, Inuyasha closed his eyes and let his ears pick up on that heavenly sound.

"Do you hear that voice too?"

A slight gasp was his answer and then silence. For a while.

"I don't hear anything, Inuyasha."

_Figures... Then I really am imagining it..._

A sad and bitter smile tweaked at his lips, even as the sunlight failed and shadows were cast over the land and the forest behind him.

"Then I think I'm going insane, Miroku. Because I can hear it. But then again, if insanity makes me hear that, I'd happily go nuts." he answered his friend and continued on into the forest, leaving a stunned monk behind him.

_Its true, if going mad means I hear her voice, I wanna be insane..._

And the voice became clearer, the further he walked, guiding his footsteps unwavering towards the Goshinbuko, where the hanyou leaped up onto his favourite branch, leaning back against the trunk of the tree. Once again he lost himself in his memories of the human that held his heart, though he had never told her so.

_Gods, I miss her... There's no use denying that..._

For a while he sat there, just enjoying the memories of her laughter, her smiles, the way her hair fell into her forehead when she slept, how she moved, talked, even how she glared at him. Oh, he had loved annoying her, just so she would get angry and fight with him. Her most menacing glare could have even made Sesshoumaru slightly queasy.

A soft smile played around his lips as he recalled how her scent changed when she was angry. Her whole being altered slightly, the kind hearted and patient Kagome was gone and in her stead he had been faced with something so ferosciously enticing it drove him near crazy.

Suddenly, the voice he heard became clearer again, and took on a more melodious tune, as if the imaginary Kagome was singing. Inuyasha had heard her sing only once before, when she had tried to calm her brother from a nightmare and she didn't know he had heard her sing.

_In this fair land, I'll stay no more ... Here labor is in vain ..._

It did sound like a song, but he couldn't remember having heard it before. However it was, he wanted to listen to her, no matter what his imagination chose to torment him with. This was sweet torture indeed.

_I'll seek the mountains far away ... And leave the fertile plain..._

It did sound like Kagome, almost too much for his own imagination. Startled golden eyes opened to look around him. He couldn't smell her, but it almost was as if he could feel her. He knew that feeling, it was the same thing he had felt when she had talked to him through the Goshinbuko. Maybe it WAS her and she sat at the tree right as he was, trapped on her side of the well, unable to reach him, as he was unable to reach her. Overcome with longing for her, the hanyou leaned into the tree, hoping to catch a bit of her aura, perhaps then she could feel him too.

And still the song continued.

_Where waves of grass in oceans roll ... Into infinity..._

Was she singing about his time? Did she want to come back to him? He hadn't seen a lot of green in her world, surely she missed the way the wind made the plains appear as if they were made of water, rolling in and out, just like the tides.

_I stand ready on the shore ... To cross the inland sea..._

That sounded like Kagome, always ready for a good fight. She had faced so many things unflinchingly, her hands always steady when they held her bow, her trust in him never failed for an instant. She always looked magnificent when the battle mood was on her, she looked fell and admirable. Her gaze hardened with a steely sheen, her entire posture screaming defiance and pride.

_I am going to the West ... You say you will not go with me..._

Was that sadness he felt from her presence just now? Was she as sad and lonely as he was, did she miss him as much as he missed her? Was she sad that he had been torn from her side and they had been trapped so far apart from each other?

_You turn your eyes away ... You say you will not follow me..._

Surely she knew better, he'd never leave her, if he had a say in the matter. If he only could reach out and pull her back to him, his heart constricted painfully in his chest at the thought of Kagome being sad. And alone. He wanted nothing more than make her happy again, make him smile once more, only one more time.

_No matter what I say ... I am going to the West ... _

There, a stab of hope floated through him as the imaginary Kagome he pictured on the tree in her time smiled slightly, her eyes blissfully closed while her beautiful white troat emitted that song. It almost seemed as if she meant him to hear it, meant for him to somehow hear her voice to make him know that she intended to come back, however long it took for her.

_I will journey to the place ... That was shaped by heaven's hand..._

Now he was sure she meant his time, she couldn't mean anything else other than that and wild happiness coursed through his veins as her presence cleared and engulfed him, shrouded him in a thick blanket made of her scent and her voice.

_And I will build for me a bower ... Where angels' footprints mark the land..._

She meant to stay with him forever? She wanted to live in his time, wanted to come back to him. He could feel it, her yearning for his era, for their friends, for him. It was so strong a craving, he could hardly believe it. That moment, Inuyasha knew fully, that she, Kagome, and no one else, would be his mate. She was his other half and he could never hope to live without her.

_Where castle rocks and towers high ... Kneel to valleys wild and green... _

Oh yes, they had seen all that while travelling the country together. Valleys filled with demons and shadow, mountains, both beautiful and menacing, forests, stretching out into a green blur at the horizon, they had seen all of that together.

_All my thoughts are turned to you ... My waking hope, my sleeping dream..._

Was she talking about him now? His thoughts were on her every moment his heart continued beating, every breath he took he could detect the faintest hint of her scent within the air, maybe she felt the same way about it. Maybe she thought as much about him as he thought about her.

_And when sun gives way to moon ... And silver starlight fills the sky..._

Suddenly all those nights returned to him, nights where he had seen her sleeping, when she had been awake, when they had been sitting together. How the fire had painted coppery reflections on her dark hair, or how the stars took to being reflected in her eyes. How the moonlight had made her seem unearthly, ethereal, otherworldly. And just then, with the moonlight giving her porcelain skin a silver shine to it, the wind slightly tugging at her hair and clothes, he had always found it difficult to look away. She was so irrestistible then. How he wished to see her skin gleam with moonlight again.

_In the arms of these last hills ... Is where I'm bound to lie..._

_Not quite, you're is meant to lie in my arms_, Inuyasha thought gruffly, as if challenging fate to defy his claim. Gods, he wanted to hold her again, to close his arms around her thin frame and shield her from the world. She always seemed so fragile compared to him, he simply had the overwhelming urge to protect her and to hold her. To feel her dainty body pressed to his, her form huddled in his chest, while her figure moulded into his embrace. How much he wanted that indeed.

_Wind, my blanket, earth, my bed ... My canopy, a tree..._

How often had she slept outside, him watching out for her? Times to numerous to ever be counted and he felt her desire to have it again. But there was a deeper meaning to this, he could feel it. Surely she meant the Goshinbuko with that tree she had included into her song. It was something that had shielded her all her life, something that had never left her, that would always be by her side, no matter where she was.

_Willows by the river's edge ... Will whisper me to sleep..._

How well he could picture her, lying in his arms sleeping in that spot near the river she liked so much. A small secluded area where she had often stayed when she had felt upset. And more than once he had accompanied her when she sat there, watching the branches of age-old willows brushing through the water flowing through the meadow. It really was a calming place.

Inuyasha sighed slightly, still sitting high in his tree, listening to Kagome singing that song, so filled with sadness and hope, it seemed impossible that those two emotions could exist in the same song, yet they were and he was listening to it. His consciousness faded in the feel of her aura surrounding the tree and him and for a moment, a small fraction of time, he imagined he could smell her scent again.

_I'll find a way to get you back here Kagome... _

**FINIS**

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><p>Thats it... Review if you like, I always love hearing what others think of my poor scribbles... But be nice, this is my first fanfiction for Inuyasha and English is only my second language! Yet, constructive criticism is always welcome. Now, enough talk, hit the green button below and let me know what you think of it! ^.^<p> 


	2. Love ever after

_Another of those song-fics appeared in my mind and I couldn't help but write it down. This one is for the song "Life after you" by Daughtry, though I stumbled upon the version by Gavin Mikhail on youtube, which is a great cover of the song. His version has a lonelier feeling to it, and one can certainly see those two pining for each other while the song plays. _

_Allright, I shall seize waffling now and simply let you enjoy the story..._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own anything, neither the song or the characters within. I do own the plotbunny though^^

**Warnings**: None that I am aware of^^

**Enjoy**!

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><p><strong><span>Love ever after<span>**

The last couple of days had been spent high up in the branches of the God-Tree by Inuyasha. Since he had been able to hear Kagome's voice he never ventured far from his spot in hopes to catch her presence once more. He couldn't honestly tell anymore how long it had been exactly since this strange event had occurred, time was somewhat lost to him now. All his mind seemed to be able to focus on was the absence of Kagome in his life, how much it hurt him not to have her by his side. He had always pretended to be stronger than anyone thought, but only now, as he felt so forsaken, he understood how lonely he really was.

_Who was I trying to kid anyway? _

It was clear now, her absence robbed him of clear thought, of any ambition to do anything, even moving seemed to be a meaningless task now to him. Sometimes he thought that if he'd simply spent the remainder of his days in this tree he just might make it to Kagome's time and see her again. Sadly he smiled a little. Inuyasha wasn't sure how long hanyou's tended to live, but he sure as hell wasn't immortal. He'd age and grow old and he was pretty sure he'd die before those 500 years were spent.

_Besides, she wants to come back here, not for me to wait until I reach her time..._

But he'd even attempt that if that was what she wanted of him. However the song still haunted him in its eerie beauty and lonesome sorrow, so plainly evident in her voice as he heard her through the border of time. She had felt so tired, so lost, so very alone. Almost like him. Inuyasha wondered if she too had that overwhelming urge to simply stay wherever she was, to let time pass by unheeded?

Not that he ever paid much attention to the way time passed. He was a hanyou and a inu-hanyou no less, time held no concept to him. It just passed, that was all. He couldn't honestly say how many hours had sped by him since Kagome and he had been so forcefully ripped apart. The only thing he was so very keenly aware of was that it hurt. Like Hell. Every minute more caused ripples of longing to course through him, and the more time passed, the more thoughts of Kagome appeared in his mind.

Inuyasha thought of how many times he had caused her to cry and how many he'd caused her to laugh, how she'd glare at him when she was angry and how her delicate white skin creased on her forehead when she was worried. How her eyes sparkled when she talked to him, even when he'd made her sad at times. How completely calm he was whenever her scent had washed over his senses.

The brief times he had held her in his arms had served well to memorize her scent down to the very last detail of her. Her hair smelled vaguely different from her skin, due to that strange concoction she used to wash it with. She had explained to him that the scent was from some fruit called coconut, but personally he didn't care what it was. To him it smelled great just because she carried that scent. His clawed fingers twitched slightly with the memory of how her skin felt through her clothes and a shiver of aching passed over him.

_Gods, I really do miss you Kagome..._

It was useless to deny it anymore, he was completely smitten with that girl. Sometimes he thought he had been from the moment she had met him at the base of the tree, or even when her unconscious plea of help had reverted part of the spell to make him wake up again. The months afterwards had just increased that feeling in his chest, everytime she got hurt during a battle, when he failed to protect her, something inside him had clenched painfully and he felt as if he couldn't breathe anymore. Only at the time he had been too afraid to figure out a reason for that. He had tried to convince himself that he was entitled to protect her, after all he HAD promised her, failure would mean losing his honour. But it was so much more than that.

Suddenly, just like last time, his nose picked up on the faintest indication of her scent in the air, either he was hallucinating once again of Kagome had returned to the tree. Choosing to believe in the impossible, Inuyasha sighed contendedly and leaned his back to the trunk behind him.

_I wonder if she'll sing another song..._

Her aura spread out and he allowed himself to be engulfed by her once again. Perhaps she could feel him that way too and know that he was listening to her. His mind conjured up a mental picture of her, just the way he wanted her to be, happy and carefree, displaying that brilliant smile which always made the light of the sun seem dim and insignificant compared to it. His mental Kagome's hair was playing in the wind, silken ebony strands of hair floating, devying gravity itself, her head tilted slightly sideways, as she had been doing so often.

And then, as if the Gods had heard his wish, he once again heard his Kagome's voice. And she was singing yet again. She was lifting her voice up to form notes and words with it that floated through time to reach his ears.

_Where does she get all these songs anyway?_

Choosing not to wonder about that, but to simply enjoy the voice of the one woman that held his heart, he let his eyes drift shut and relish in the feel of her presence around him.

_10 miles from town and I just broke down, spitting out smoke on the side of the road..._

That didn't make sense, perhaps he hadn't understood correctly. Frowning the hanyou let himself sink deeper in his daze and focus on her and nothing else.

_I'm out here alone just tryin' to get home to tell you I was wrong but you already know..._

Wrong about what? What could Kagome possibly be wrong about? Maybe that she'd be better off in her time? Perhaps she really didn't belong there, maybe she was meant all along to end up on his side of the well and they both simply didn't realize it. And she did feel alone, he could sense it clearly. Inuyasha wondered what had happened to make her feel so alone and lost, she had her friends right?

_Believe me I won't stop at nothing to see you so I've started running..._

She was as determined to get back to him as he was to provide her with a way for it. He wanted his Kagome back, nothing else mattered anymore. He had accepted the fact that his heart had chosen her as a mate a long time ago, and mates were made to be with the other. After all, she was his other half, without her he was sure he'd die. Maybe not right away, but certainly sooner than expected. He would die without her, that was something the hanyou had come to understand in all those nights spent in the branches of Goshinbuko with nothing but starlight to grace the skies overhead. He needed to get her back, more than he needed air itself. Compared to his need to have Kagome with him, the need for air paled drastically.

Realizing that he had zoned out in a sort of daydream where she was back with him and laughing at him, he focussed his mind back on Kagome, intend not to miss one moment of her voice.

_Last time we talked, the night that I walked out, Burns like an iron in the back of my mind..._

Gods that was true, he could remember the conversation he had with Kagome on the eve of the final battle. She had seemed so determined to face whatever was coming at them, to brave whatever devilry Naraku held for them, she had even seemed to be prepared to face her own death that night. They hadn't said anything about how they felt about one another, but no real words were needed. They had simply sat, right next to each other, their shoulders lightly touching together, ever so slightly leaning against one another. And that had been enough to make them understand.

_I must have been high to say you and I weren't meant to be and I was just wasting my time..._

Images of Kikyo flooded his brain and he understood how often he had made Kagome doubt her self-worth being comapred with Kikyo every step she took. For the longest time he himself had done that, looking at her and only seeing Kikyo, but gradually something strange had happened. Everytime he went to see Kikyo, he saw Kagome in her. He began to measure Kikyo to Kagome and found that nothing could ever measure up to her. But there was a time, albeit a long time ago, that he had doubted his own desire for Kagome, he simply hadn't known that she had gone through the same thing. But then again, could he really blame her for doubting? Time and time again he had left her behind for a copy of someone he had thought he loved a long time ago.

_Oh why did I ever doubt you, You know I would die here without you..._

That was delivered with such vehemence, such desparation it tore at the very edges of his soul. _She'd die without me... _She did feel the same thing, she too felt as if she was slowly being torn in two, just as he was.

_You and I, right or wrong, there's no other one, after this time we spent alone..._

It didn't matter anymore, opinions didn't matter anymore, no insult they could ever fling at Inuyasha could ever erase that feeling of pure elation and love that flooded his being as her words reached him and filled a void in his heart he hadn't known had been there to begin with. Simply her stating that he was the only one for her was enough. She didn't care either what people would say about them, all that mattered to her was to be beside him again. Just as much as he wished to be with her.

_I do believe that a man with sight would be so blind, thinking 'bout the better times, must 'a been outta my mind..._

Yes, that was true. He had been blind for so long, only to finally see clearly in the moment she was taken away from him. He had stumbled through his existance enshrouded in a dark blanket, until she had come and had pulled him out of it. Without her he wouldn't have been able to accept something like friendship, he wouldn't have taken to care for a little fox kitsune, he wouldn't have ever stopped to worry about old Kaede and whether she would live to see the next summer or not. _Have to remember to thank Kagome for that..._

_All that I'm after, is a life full of laughter, without you God knows what I'd do..._

That was all she wanted? A life filled with laughter? When he got her back (and he was sure he'd get her somehow) he would make sure that she laughed often, that he was the one to make her smile and laugh that angelic laugh again. Gods, he loved to see her laugh, how her aura seemed to pulse with every breath she took, while pure mirth overcame her. She probably didn't even know what she did to him when she laughed, but he loved her all the more for it. The Kagome he had fallen so heavily for, was just like that. So innocent and carefree, it was hard to believe at some point. And besides, he wasn't sure himself what he'd do if this purgatory continued on for much longer. He'd probably continue to sit in those branches and eventually starve to death waiting for Kagome to return to him. And somewhere in his heart he sensed that she felt the same. That she herself was willing to accept death if she couldn't overcome the rift that time had created.

_Yeah, all that I'm after, is a life full of laughter, as long as I'm laughing with you..._

How often had she pelted out some witty remark that made him chuckle, both inwardly and outwardly. Her dismissal of even the biggest demon or the strongest power simply to throw some snide comment delivered in that beautifully and strangely enticing disinterested voice had made him grin on a number of occasions. To believe in the possibility that he'd too have that sensation on a daily basis made him yearn for her even more. He wanted to be able to laugh with her, to spend the rest of his days bathed in her scent and the sight of her smile, that he wished for.

_All that still matters, is love ever after, after the life we've been through..._

She was right, all that mattered at this point was their love for the other and how much they meant to each other. He knew full well that his life had been a virtual hell before he even met Kikyo, but only since Kagome had appeared in his days, he began to like living. As long as Kagome was there, life was worth continuing.

_'Cause I know there's no life after you..._

She was right, there was no life without her and he couldn't just forget her. There was no going back now, his heart had chosen and he couldn't back out of that now, not even if he wanted. He simply couldn't go on and forget her, and he knew she couldn't either. There was no real life waiting for them without the other by their side.

"You're right, Kagome." he said in the stillness around him as her voice stilled and the song ended. A smile tugged at his lips as he stored that song away in the confines of his memory, to relish and enjoy it later again.

_I need you Inuyasha..._

Her voice drifted once more through the nothingness around him and he couldn't but answer back. After all, this was Kagome and she had been able to speak through the tree once before to him.

"I need you too Kagome."

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><p><em><span>Before you exclaim in anguish over the abrupt ending, it simply felt right to have it end there. When the next song comes along that fits I'll probably do another one. Methinks this will develop into a full blown series of song-fics blending together to form a story. As I've never done that before it could be there are gaps between the updates, so do put up with me, there's some good chaps?<span>_

_As always, I would be delighted to see you all reviewing. Its easy, just press the green button directly below and let me know what you think of it^^ I even enabled anonymous reviews! But be nice, English is only my second language..._

_Yours faithfully _

_Callie_


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